Page 32 of It's Only Make Believe

“Hi,” I say.

Luke leans over and we kiss.

“Hi,” he replies.

He pulls back away from the curb and out of my street and onto the main road.

“Ready to tell me where we’re going?” I say.

“Well, I thought Lincoln Park Zoo, then lunch, and then The Shedd Aquarium for starters? How does that sound?” Luke says.

“Good,” I reply. “Unless the aquarium treats the whales and such cruelly. I can’t go somewhere where the poor things look depressed and lifeless.”

“They don’t,” Luke says. “None of their animals are forced to perform, they eat a natural diet, and they get lots of attention from marine biologists. They have medical professionals on site and the only whales there are ones who wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild. The place doesn’t go hunting wild whales and poaching them.”

“That sounds good then,” I say. “You sound like you know a lot about the place.”

“Conservation and animal protection are big passions of mine, and I donate a lot of money to the two places we will be visiting today because they both have the right ethos I believe,” Luke says.

“That’s sweet,” I say. “I wish I could make a difference like that. I think the closest I’ll come is being able to adopt a rescue dog once I have my career sorted and have a house rather than an apartment. I know that’s not much though.”

“It might not seem much to you. To the dog you adopt, it is everything,” Luke says, and I smile. I like that way of thinking.

The drive isn’t too long, and Luke pulls into the parking lot of the Lincoln Park Zoo and finds a parking spot. We get out of thecar and head towards the entrance. I’m shocked when I see the entrance fee is free.

“How come it’s free?” I ask.

“They want to educate people about animals and their plights. Charging people rules out a lot of visitors,” Luke explains.

He makes a good point, but I can’t think of a single other zoo that employs the same strategy. This one must either be owned by someone mega rich who cares about the animals they house, or they do good fund raising events or something like that. Maybe local businesses sponsor them too. They must feed the animals and pay the staff somehow and they can’t do all of that and all of the maintenance of the place without money.

We enter the zoo and hand in hand, we follow the trail painted on the ground. I can’t help but shriek with delight when we come to a huge enclosure with a pride of lions inside. They are stretched out, relaxing, sleeping, just enjoying their day. The sight is so special, and I feel my eyes filling with tears as I watch the sleeping cats. Luke sees my reaction and squeezes my hand. I squeeze back.

“They’re beautiful” I whisper, and Luke nods his head.

We move on and Luke and I chat as we go. Mostly, we talk about the animals we are seeing and the environments they are in, but we also talk a little bit about other things too. I feel like I’m really getting to know Luke and I hate that I have to be so vague in anything I tell him about myself or my family because he thinks I’m Louisa and that her family is my family. I can’t tell him about how my mom worked her ass off to make sure I had everything I needed, or how we used to sit up late throughout December making Christmas decorations from colored cardboard and glitter because we couldn’t afford to buy new ones. I guess I will have lots to tell him once my internship is over. Assuming he still wants to know me.

I stop myself from going down that path again and turn my focus instead to the animals again. We see all kinds of things: otters, flamingos, different kinds of birds and ducks, different kinds of monkeys, reptiles and insects. We see so much that I feel like I will never remember them all, but I love every minute of the trip, and I’m a little bit sad when it is over. I feel like I could happily spend weeks in here. I can come back whenever I want to though now that I know the place exists and it’s not even like it will take a chunk of my salary to visit.

We decide to have our lunch in the little café within the zoo’s grounds and at least give something back that way. We both order grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup, and I choose a can of orange soda and Luke chooses a can of grape soda. When our meals arrive, the soup is thick and tangy and the cheese is melty and stretchy, and I thoroughly enjoy my lunch.

“For something so simple, that was really good,” Luke says.

“It was delicious,” I agree.

“Would you like anything else?” Luke asks me.

“No thanks,” I say.

Truthfully, the cakes and pastries look amazing, and I would love to try one, but we have the aquarium next, and I feel like if eat any more, I won’t want to keep walking around. Luke goes and pays the bill, and we leave the café and then the zoo itself and go back to Luke’s car. We get in and he drives to the aquarium. It’s only a twenty minute drive and we are there. We get out of the car again and go to the entrance. This attraction isn’t free, and I reach for my wallet.

“I’ll pay for our tickets,” I say.

“You’ll do no such thing,” Luke says.

“But …” I start.

Luke cuts me off before I get any further.

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